Memorial Day of St. Dominic (08/08)

Saint Dominic, Spanish. Domingo, founder of the Order of Preachers or the Dominican Order (Dominicans or Order of Preachers), whose memory is honored by the Catholic Church on August 8, was born in 1170 into a wealthy Spanish Guzman family in Caleruega. Until the age of fourteen, he studied under the guidance of his priest uncle, then at school he studied the liberal arts and theology for 10 years, and in 1184 he entered the university in Palencia. As a young man, Dominic became famous for his kindness and compassion. He was known to sell his valuable books and even clothes to help those in need, and twice tried to sell himself into slavery to free his captured compatriots.

In 1196, Dominic became a member of the chapter of Canons Regular in the city of Osma, one of whose tasks was to reform the established rules for clergy. Dominic, known for his modesty, provided the best example for the rest of the participants.

In 1203, Bishop Diego de Aceveda was sent by the Castilian king Alfonso IX to Denmark on a diplomatic mission aimed at obtaining consent for the marriage of a Danish princess to a Spanish prince. Dominic was included in this expedition. Driving through the territory of Southern France, the bishop and his companions were amazed at the scale of the spread of the Albigensian heresy in this territory.

After returning from northern Europe, Bishop de Aceveda and Dominique remained in Southern France, deciding to devote themselves to preaching the Gospel and fighting heresy in the region. In 1206, they founded a women's community in Pruil, consisting of the daughters of Catholic nobles and women converted from heresy. The bishop was soon recalled by the Pope, but Dominique remained in France and continued his activities. In 1209—1213, Dominic again preached in Languedoc during the crusade against the Albigensians.

In 1214, the first community appeared in Toulouse; six like-minded people from this community then became the core of the Order of Preachers.

In 1215, Dominic arrived in Rome and turned to Pope Innocent III with a request to approve the Order, however, the Charter of the Order was approved only in 1216 by the next Pope Honorius III. The order received the name — Order of Preachers, and subsequently it began to be more often called the Dominican Order after the founder. As this was the first time a religious order had been organized, the rules written by Saint Augustine were taken in the drafting of its Rite. The main tasks of the Order were preaching the Gospel and religious truths, as well as the competent use of the intellectual powers of the priesthood for the needs of the people.

Dominic travelled extensively in the following years, spreading his order to Italy, Spain and France.

He died at noon on August 6, 1221, after a serious and long illness in the Dominican monastery of St. Nicholas in Bologna (St. Nicholas at Bologna, where his relics rest. In 1234 he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX.

The tradition of the Catholic Church associates with the name of St. Dominic the appearance of the Rosary — of widespread Catholic prayer on rosaries. According to legend, the Rosary was awarded to Saint Dominic in 1214 during the apparition of the Virgin Mary.

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